The Road to Dell: Part Two

Howdy.  Yup, that's me in the video interview sporting a Cowboy Hat.  I told you I really bought one on my trip to Austin!  If I had to sum up my experience at Dell it would come down to two points:

1. Dell is a brand/company in transition
2. Dell's employees responsible for community outreach are both passionate and committed

To the first point, I was able to weigh in and preview several initiatives in progress that relate to both the Dell brand and the customer experience.  I can't get too specific here, but I feel the folks at Dell do realize that they need to evolve in order to advance as a formidable leader in their space.  Dell's made some new hires in recent months which is a sign that they are committed to evolving.  However I think the real Dell story starts with a revolution in their products and the experiences customers have with them.  The XPS M1330 is a very different type of laptop for Dell.  It's designed for both performance as well as desire—or in other words, it's "Geek Chic".  I believe that Dell's transformation is dependent on both their product and experience design (how the customer interacts with the brand).  So for me personally, I'm going to be looking at the next generation of products that come out as well as what customers have to say about them.


(Dell XPS M1330)

To the second point—in my personal opinion, Dell has been able to engage their customers by first listening to what they are saying, and then engaging them.  I was really surprised to see the level of sophistication at how they do this.  I f you think they are relying on Technorati, Google, or even Buzzmetrics alone—you're kidding yourself. They've got more robust ways of doing this (I can't reveal their methods).   But suffice it to say that they are pretty efficient.  And lastly the team that I met who work in this space are passionate about the medium and all of the tools/techniques that go with it.  If you think Dell is doing a good job in this area, then what you have to know about it is that their team is very enthusiastic about the space.  I don't think a company can get similar results through assigning a team to these types of initiatives if they're not genuinely excited about it.

In short, Dell is in transition.  Personally, I'd like to see this turn into a business case where design (not the pretty kind of design) really makes a difference for them as both company and brand.

Comments

[Todd W.]

Is there any company these days that isn't "a brand/company in transition"? I'd say the differentiating factor is whether the company recognizes it. Seems most require some sort of stumble to wake up, which Dell has just done. There are a rare few who recognize they have to change or die and get out in front of the change. (I hesitate to put Apple in this category since it had its own sort of near-death experience that instigated the current string of successes.) Perhaps its too much to ask for anyone or any company to be that forward thinking. Staying close to your customers is a sure way to get advance warning that change is in the air, though it can also blind you to a whole new customer set that you haven't even considered. How to balance that out?

[Kevin Dugan]

"I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride..."

:-)

[Eric Reagan]

Ok David. Kudos on being on the Dell blog. But promise us one thing: next time you wear a cowboy hat wear a real one, and not one of those bon jovi hollywood knock offs.
http://randhats.com/

[Eric Kintz]

Hey cowboy,

So you fly to Austin to meet with Dell and you still have not come to see us on the West Coast??? David, David.....

Hope you are doing well :)
Eric

[DA]

Todd. A good point and no doubt one of the challenges they face.

Kevin, there will be no Bon Jovi references on this blog.

Eric R. See above reF Bon Jovi. I'll also have you know that hat is a classic. It's a Stetson!

Eric K. Sorry man, Richard made things happen. He got me out there from sheer persistance. HP better watch out. Dell's got "The eye of the tiger". ;-)

Wow, talk about the irony. I ban Bon Jovi references yet invoke "Survivor". Ack!